The devil. There is no denying that he is real. Doubting he exists just means he’s free to hurt us and stop us from doing what God is calling us to do. Jesus never doubted the reality of the devil. The Bible says, ‘Jesus was led up by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil’ (Matthew 4:1 NKJV). But Jesus won. And He proved that God can use Satan’s plans to strengthen us. Has anyone ever said to you, ‘this is just making you stronger’? It’s not really what you want to hear when you’re going through a tough time. It’s hard to think ‘oh well, I’m going to be stronger afterwards, so it’s all worth it.’ But that’s the reality of it. Times of testing are actually times of spiritual training. ‘Consider it a sheer gift, friends, when tests and challenges come at you from all sides…So don’t try to get out of anything prematurely. Let it do its work so you can become mature and well-developed, not deficient in any way’ (James 1:2-4 MSG). Accepting the idea that ‘this will make you stronger’ is hard enough, but to consider it a gift, well, that’s a massive challenge. But the opportunity to have our faith strengthened is a gift. God loves you too much to not allow you to grow and mature. So next time someone tells you that your struggles are going to make you stronger, don’t just dismiss it as unhelpful advice. Instead, use it as a reminder that God really is strengthening you and will use the tough times for your good.
What now?
Think back to the last difficult time you went through. What things did you learn and find out about yourself, which you wouldn’t have known about if you hadn’t had that experience.